Hello CC.
For those of you who dont know, I'm an american home baker living in the middle east. Baking ingredients, packaging, decor, etc, is very hard to come by here, so to be in this business I had to REALLY use my imagination.
Well something Ive recently done is started ordering all my stuff from the states and just shipping it over, there are several other women here who bake and sell from home, so doing this has gotten me to be pretty unique in my items and have more people call.
Well another home baker who I chat with at times came across my website, sent me a message and complimented my work. We chatted back and forth sometimes (this is the same woman who hasnt payed me yet for those of you who saw that thread..)
Well this person has copied my website almost to the T when it comes to layout and style, is always asking me how I did this, or how I did that, where Igot this, where I got that, etc. Isnt it not very good business conduct to be asking me these thinngs??
Also, when this person saw on my website that I had shipped in a whole bunch of specialty items from the states, like sprinkles all different shapes (they only sell 1 kind here), edible glitters, edible markers, lorainne oils, etc, this person wasnt even shy to say to me "Wow!! im ordering all that stuff too" and proceeds to email me links even to show me that now we have the "same" stuff.
I loved being unique and being the only one who had these things. I dont know ANYONE here so all my business is from FB or from advertising. I do have things going pretty well, but I still have weeks like this one where no one has called. This person brags she has 5 customers a day. Well stop stealing my ideas!!!!!!!
I now have blocked this person from my list, will remove from my FB, but unless I actually go as far as changing my web address she will still have access to my ideas.
If she were in another area I wouldnt care, but he lives right down the street from me.
Sorry yall, just felt like venting. This is really bothering me. I spent a LOT of money on these items and to ship them in just to be one of a kind. and now it hasnt been a week even and I'm being copied
and by someone who I think it just pretending to be a friend to get information.
How do you deal with people copying your work? competition copying your work?? and ones who have the nerve to be so OPEN about it like its no big deal? to me, it is....I need this money and I strived to be unique.

No it's a very GOOD business practice to copy a sucessful business model. It's in every business there is. If you didn't want someone to copy why did you tell her? You carved out a good niche to where you are, and you told someone how you did it? There is a reason KFC recipe has been locked up with very few people knowing it. Ever see a Bushes baked beans commercial? How many people do you think want that recipe? You got infiltrated by a very good corporate spy.

Mike

Dont tell her anything. It sound to me like she is bragging.......I bet she really doesn't have 5 order a day. Have you seen evidence of her churning out that many cakes (like pix)? Does she have a website? Have you checked out if she is putting new pic on? Just because she says it doesn't mean it is happening.
We all have days/weeks w/o orders.....don't let your imagination run away with you

thank you kake lady.
and Mike I havent given her any info, she asks and I dont answer. its just she goes to my website and sees my new additions then adds the same things on her.s

Mike's right. You have found yourself a shewannabe-You.

I know two people like that, very, very well. These two pals had been members of almost every forum I ever joined. What iirks me about them is that they have taken credit for other people's work, without crediting them for it. One steals other people's cake ideas, but never credits the original designer. The other turns what she learns into tutorials, but never credits the person who taught her in the first place.

I had one like that directly in my life. She was running an illegal shop, and constantly asking me for advice on how to do extreme cake work. I got to the point where I couldn't do it anymore. She wouldn't even kick the credit my way for teaching her how to do it.

My best advice to you - contact her webmaster or browser and tell them that she has violated your intellectual property rights, as you had that web design first. Then keep her on a long leash - the farther away, and the less she knows, the better off you are.

Theresa

I just heard a story yesterday about 'stealing' ideas - in this case a recipe.
Guy is a great hobby cook. Some lady comes to him (don't remember the place/situation) asks for his tomato pie recipe which he happily shared. The next week is county fair....and she shows up. They had entered the same pie - only he, at the last minute, had added one extra ingredient. *She* won! Guy is well know by judges, who approach him the next day to explain why. Seems the the extra ingredient dominated the flavor taking just enough away from the tomatoes.

Once you share information you cannot know what is going to happen with the info.

I would be really frustrated also..I would try what Playing with Sugar suggested and contact the webmaster about design etc...Some people have no tact..Hope this resolves itself sooner rather than later.